Good decision?

Well, after thinking things though I have decided to get the M17xR3 3D with the following specs:

Intel® Core™ i7 2820QM 2.3GHz (3.4GHz Turbo Mode, 8MB Cache)
Genuine Windows® 7 Home Premium, 64bit
8GB Dual Channel DDR3 at 1333MHz (4DIMMS)
320GB 7,200RPM HDD
17.3-inch WideFHD 1920x1080 120Hz WLED w/ NVIDIA 3D Vision Bundle
Intel® Advanced N + WiMAX 6250 a/g/n 2x2 MIMO Technology
Internal WirelessHD Technology - FullHD Video Transmitter
Alienware M17x, Soft Touch Stealth Black
4 Year Advanced Plan

Now currently I have a gaming desktop with a i7 2600k, with a GTX 580. So basically I am getting this as a "laptop to go." I just want to make sure I am making the right decision before I click on order now.

Please let me know what you all think.

 

I would wait, I talk to a sales rep. today that said the 3d platform is getting the new (fast!!!) 580m nvidia chip very soon.

 

Yes, if you need to have a gaming laptop on the go that is.

The spec seems good (I cant complain about the gpu, as you wanted 3d).
You could save some money though by upgrading the ram youself and taking the i7 2720qm instead as it is almost as fast, but gives more bang for the buck.

 

I guess the question to ask is how much are you really going to be traveling? When traveling are you going to have time to game? Are you going to want to big a large laptop/power brick around? If the answers are yrs then I doubt see why not. If no than maybe look for something more portable.

As far as specs the 2720 is cheaper and the jump to 2820 is negligible. The 2720 is plenty sufficient for gaming.

 

Spoke to my EPP agent and he is unsure. I just asked for a quote so nothing is definite yet.

True, I can and I will save quite a bit as well. However I am about the future, not just now. That is the reason why I picked this over the XPS 17 cause the GPU can be upgraded

 

The i7 2820QM will not make a big difference, even in the future. I would still take the i7 2720QM, and wait for the i7 2920XM to drop in price instead.

The step from 2720QM to 2820QM will never be big enough to be worth it. The step to 2920XM could be worth it, as it can be overclocked and turbo on all four cores with throttle stop.

 

I thought you can't put in the XM due to a locked BIOS, or something like that. Please correct me if I am wrong though.

 

I7 2920xm will work. Resellers like Hidevolution even have it on their config page for the M17x R3.

 

Isn't this a good price for a 2920xm ES?
If it's as good as the 920xm ES were compared to their OEM counterparts then
Intel i7 mobile CPU i7 2920xm ES 2.4Ghz | eBay

 

Wow, so basically I can get that processor for the same as the 2820 upgrade...nice

 

Yes, but idk if there's a way to benefit of its unlocked features in the M17x R3.

 

So it is "locked" then... :/ that stinks. I guess they did it cause of heat issues?

 

yup the r3 bios is locking out multiplier manipulation making the 2920xm locked and no fun.

 

in this case stick with the 2820qm or even the 2720 for now, maybe later some custom BIOS will allow users to benefit from the unlocked features of the 2920xm and the effort will be well worth it.

 

I called my rep and he gave me a really decent price so I will go with that most likely.

It was either XPS 17 3D or the m17xr3 3D and the AW won quite a bit.

Hopefully they will upgrade the video card in the next year so I will upgrade the card to maybe a 560 or 580.

Thank you everyone for your help.